LazioM.A.N

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

So I just realized that I haven’t written in a while. Big
deal right? Considering my previous love for writing, day in-day out, reading
and looking for ways to entertain my readers. Two years later, my brain is
filled with scientific mechanisms of actions and all that stuff. Oh well, I
seriously have no idea what to write about today, but I just wanted to leave a
piece to my devoted readers.

That being said, I think it is important for you to take
care of yourself. What do I mean? Take care of your emotional, mental, physical
and spiritual health. You will be surprised how many people are living on earth
without a balanced health. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make
you inferior without your consent.” So yes, take care of you!!....Be happy,
enjoy life, read, exercise, love yourself, then other people will love you.

In the words of an old woman I once knew, “A word is enough
for the wise.”

Saturday, November 22, 2014

So I woke up this morning, free. What that means is subject
to your interpretation. It was a feeling of fresh air, new beginnings, new
focus, new breath and a new spirit. This is about to be the most random blog I've
ever written, lol, but get used to it. You see, there are times when men/women
are faced with decisions that overwhelm their spirit, challenges that control
their ‘beings,’ and feelings that monitor their progress. But it is all
temporary. I’ve come to understand that all my past failures and frustrations
were actually laying down the foundation to my current level of wellness. Sometimes
you've got to be your own hero, and save yourself. So I tell you one thing, use
all of the past frustrations and anger that you have experienced to fuel your
mind as you head into your future. You’ll be surprised about how many people
out there whom you barely know genuinely want the best for you, while people
you know very well are just waiting for you to fail. In the end, what matters
is your focus on you, worry less about what other people think.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Just last month, I celebrated my birthday. Woot, woot!! A
few days before, I reminisced on life and officially came to the conclusion
that life waits for no one. It felt like yesterday when I turned sixteen and graduated from high school. During this thoughtful period, I concluded that I was no longer a kid.

However, I do not know if that explains my longing to be a
kid again. Longing to do things that are child-like. A week prior, I went
go-karting at an arcade with one of my friends. As I rode on that go-kart, I
felt refreshed, worry free and the bliss of childhood was all around. I was reminded by these events that human
wants were insatiable. There’s a popular saying that ‘the grass is greener on
the other side,’ but be rest assured that the ‘water bill is also greener on
the other side’ as well.

I remember the good old days as a teenager, when I told
myself I was a man, and forcefully told other people of my manhood. What did I
know? I guess I was just a wishful teenager looking for unnecessary
responsibilities. Five years later, my childhood friend told me, “LazioM.A.N, I
think you can call yourself a man now.” Surprised, I asked why. Her reply, “you seem to have responsibilities that you handle now.” But that doesn't stop the fact that there is this little kid in me, trying to revive the things of the old.

Monday, March 31, 2014

About a year ago, a good friend of mine, Sherome (President of
I.C.E) asked me to speak at the closing finale of our mentorship program at
South Scioto Academy. Truth be told, I didn’t know what to say. I thought of
ways of integrating the values we had learned over the past 6 weeks at Scioto,
but I couldn’t find any luck. I also thought of searching online for some
valuable resources but it resulted to no avail. Finally, I made up my mind to
sit quietly and speak from the heart. To share the thoughts of my mind’s eye. So
here it goes.

Truth be told, in the contemporary world we live in today,
it is extremely difficult to uphold the standards that uphold the “ideal man of
I.C.E.” These are standards and ideals which I feel, living them out would
label the person as a rebel to our society. However, history has shown that
this is doable. We have heard of the likes of great men who lived out these
qualities and made significant impact to their world positively. And today, we
remember them. One of them is MLK.

A man of I.C.E is a leader. He is merely mediocre, but a
great leader who upholds the principles of integrity at all times. A man whose
image shines on the world at all times. He is kind to people, but when he is
chosen by other people, he stands up like a man should. Even in the midst of
his kindness, he remains fearless in his ways. In times of adversity, he stands
up with brevity and protects the people he loves.

A man of I.C.E stays true to his word. When he says he will
do something, he does it. Why? Because his word is his bond. It’s all he has.
He gives no excuses for his failures, but instead admits his faults and finds
ways to become a better man.

He is a man if character and proper etiquette. He walks like
a god and attracts his goddess. He treats girls and other women around him like
princesses. He stays away and doesn’t get caught up with the fast life. Why? Because
he realizes that there are many great things out there for him. He is wise,
listens to his elders and parents, and follows their instructions. He knows his
mother is his best friend, and tells her he loves her every day. He obeys
instructions, quick to listen, but slow to judge others. Overall he executes
swiftly.

In conclusion, I want you to understand these few things.
There will be times in the future where you’ll be left with a decision to make.
At that very moment, ask yourself, what will a man of I.C.E do? Always listen
to your heart, it never lies. Somehow it already knows what you seek out in
doing. Above all, discover the ‘little’ captain in you, and use that to impact
the world, and make it a better place for us all.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

So I decided to write today, considering my writing hasn’t
been consistent over the past few months. My extremely busy schedule has
thwarted me from even thinking about writing. Anyways, back to today’s matter,
I wanted to share some of my learned values over the past 5 months with the
world, maybe it might be applicable to aspiring physicians or even people in
other matters of life. So here it goes:

1. Breathe, then break the heck out of your
status quo:I never appreciated this
quote more, until I almost lost my mind during the early days of November.
Luckily, I survived beyond my expectations.

2 2. I guess Sun Tzu was right when he mentioned, “Never
give an enemy no option of escape, because being pushed to the extremes will
motivate the enemy to find ways to survive.”I never knew how much strength I had until I was given no option but to
fight the work in front of me.

33. Repetition. Yes! It’s all about repetition. My
friends pursuing the same life’s work in other parts of the world have
confirmed the same thing. The more you know, the less you do not know.

4. Trust, but verify

5.5. Where else would you find an environment with a
group of people with an average GPA of 3.7? Yes, never take it for granted. I
have learned to humble myself amongst these great minds I see daily, while
finding ways to continually learn from their intelligence.

6.6. To win a war, focus more on strategies, not
manpower. Never underestimate the power of effective planning, strategizing and
time management.

7.7. Enjoy the journey, so do something you love every
day, or else you’ll lose your mind.

8.8. It’s the little things that count.

9.9. Labor omnia vincit

That’s all I have for now with respect to lessons learned. I’m
very thankful for wisdom, soccer and ping pong. More than thankful for Whats-app, it has kept me in communication with those I love the most. I think I’ll stop there for today, but I’ll
conclude by stealing the words of my cousin, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” That’s
how great minds change the world.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

So I just realized I haven’t blogged in a while…big deal…I’ve
been in the dark taking care of business, learning how to best utilize my God-given
talent for the betterment of our generation. I must say my new environment is
different from the old. Sometimes I ask myself why I got myself into this
stress, but you will be surprised that it’s the little things that keep me
motivated. For example, the other day, I was in the process of learning this
topic about the human body (keeping it simple for the sake of the blog) when I suddenly
became frustrated. I had just realized that I went from being a prolific tutor
to becoming a student, numbing the business side of my life. In the midst of my venting and anger, I heard
the voice of my nephew. That was it. Reminiscing about the little time spent
with a semi-descendant palliated my anger, and my day was made.

So why do I write this? You will be surprised how influential
the little things in one’s life are. Like my godfather said, the doors to the
greatest things on earth are opened by small keys. So take time out to spend
with the ones you love, trust me, it’s the pictures and videos of today that
eventually become the memories of tomorrow. It’s the little things that keep me
sane.

Another motivation stems from the belief that we owe future
generations a better tomorrow. Henry Ford is a great example. During his days,
he asked people around the community what they needed, and they said faster
horses. Funny enough, he was ahead of the game. He created a something that
forever changed the world, a car. Bill Gates said, “we were young, but we good
advice and good ideas and lots of enthusiasm.” The rest is history. I think it is very important as individuals to
think of ways to contribute to making the world a better place.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

I was broke. No, scratch that. I was very broke. My life was a life of melancholy, misery and unhappiness. I was drained in complicated problems that I never saw myself getting out of. There needed to be a way out but I didn’t know how.I didn’t know what to do. I looked around me and it seemed like nothing was working. During these turbulent times, I had worked at several menial jobs that needed to keep me afloat; however, it seemed like the resources I had only alleviated a little percentage of my major problems.

In the midst of these problems, I would log on to Facebook and find my friends and colleagues updating statuses of major successes with a million likes to celebrate these accomplishments. In addition, friends would post pictures of recent travels overseas and other major celebrations but I had none to show.Things needed to change, and all I needed was to discover the little ‘captain’ in me. I was patient. I understood that the difference between becoming what I dreamed of being and my current position depended on the steps I took. So I went soul searching to determine what I could do. In preceding years, my love for math and science had increased (thanks to my father who never relented to instill the fundamentals of math and science) and I enjoyed teaching these subjects to friends and family members. I knew I was patient with people, especially during tutoring sessions but I didn’t know how I could integrate these observed qualities to mold my life the way I wanted. Before I go any further, I must say I had worked as a student tutor at my undergraduate institution and I absolutely loved it. In addition, I volunteered in different tutorial programs including some minor pro bono operations. I think I might have worked as an indentured servant during one of those times, but hey, I was learning.

On one sunny day during the spring season in Houston, Texas, I was driving back from classes with a friend of mine when a discussion came up. We had been driving on highway 59S, one of the busiest highways in Texas, enjoying the view of the tall buildings, nice cars and huge F-150 trucks when my friend said, “Toye, what are you doing this summer?” I told him about my love for tutoring but expressed my fear of launching. By the time we arrived at Richmond and beltway 8, our discussion had convinced me to take a step of faith. That night, Lazio Tutoring was officially launched….in my mind. All I needed to do was to actualize these thoughts.

Yes, capital was very low, ($20) but that did not stop me from going forward with my plans. Within a short period of time, I met with my partner and we planned, and planned. I must say the President of ETN.CONNECT (my business mentor) brought out the entrepreneur in me that I never knew existed.

Our first client was a potential MBA candidate who had failed the GMAT twice. Out of desperation, she asked us to tutor her in the quantitative section of the GMAT. Our shared commitment to academic excellence led to weekly meetings for two months. During this time, a weekly progress report was filled out and marked improvement was demonstrated. Today, she is a proud MBA graduate.Her strong belief in Lazio Tutoring’s teaching methods honed our teaching skills and fostered my love for learning.

The rest is history. Profits made from Lazio Tutoring paid a significant portion of my undergraduate tuition. We have tutored students of all demographics all across the country.As the President and lead tutor of Lazio Tutoring, we are humbled to have tutored several demographics including blacks, whites, Asians, kindergarten students and adult education students. We have prepared students for the MCAT, GMAT, GRE, SAT, NET, ACT, GED and counting.Some of our students matriculated to top schools like Duke, Case Western, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, University of Missouri and many more. A couple of our students have also received the award for “The Most Outstanding Student” in their respective high school graduating classes. Others are published researchers at Cleveland Clinic and have received awards as “Most promising Urological researcher in the world” without completing an undergraduate education. Our tutors have won national awards and have participated in the grading of national scholarship essays for companies. Overall, we are grateful, humbled and resilient.

So, whenever you think you are a little confused about life, just remember there is a little ‘captain’ in you. This little captain is ready to do great things in the world, the only thing holding it back is you. So, get up! And use the little ‘captain’ in you to go out there and change the world!